Former Giants closer Rod Beck, whose spirit flowed as freely as his long hair, and who intimidated hitters with a Fu Manchu mustache and an even more menacing split-finger fastball, was found dead in his Phoenix home Saturday. He was 38.

The Giants were notified in a phone call Saturday night from Beck's agent. The cause of death was not known, and the Arizona Republic reported that police are investigating because Beck was alone when he died. The authorities do not suspect foul play.

"This is a bad day for baseball," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who managed Beck with the Padres in 2003 and 2004, his final two years in the big leagues. "To lose a guy who has done so much for the game, so much for the Giants' organization, that's why this is such a tragedy."

Beck saved 286 games over 13 major-league seasons, including 199 for the Giants from 1991 through '97. That stood as the franchise record until Robb Nen broke it in 2002. Moments after Nen earned the milestone save, Beck phoned the Giants' media-relations department to make sure they relayed a message of congratulations.

Beck was a three-time National League All-Star and the 1994 Rolaids Relief Award winner.

Beck was drafted by the A's in 1986 and after a trade with the Giants in 1988, he made his big-league debut with San Francisco in 1991. He was a vital member of the 1993 team that won 103 games and the 1997 team that won San Francisco's first division title in eight seasons. He later pitched for the Cubs, Red Sox and Padres, retiring after San Diego released him in 2004.

That spring, Beck took an extended leave of absence for what was described as personal reasons. Insiders knew he had gone into rehab for substance abuse.

"It's so sad when you see such a healthy player go at such a young age," Bochy said. "A lot of times, you can't fight your demons. That's what makes it even sadder. Even though you do all you can to help some of these athletes, they can't beat it. I don't know what the story with Rod was (about his death), but it's tough to take."

With a beer belly and the Fu Manchu, Beck had the look of an old-time ballplayer and the fortitude to be a closer, although he did not possess the brute force of a Goose Gossage. Although he threw hard early in his career, his fastball rarely hit 90 mph during his later years with the Giants. But his splitter was unhittable. He stood on the mound, staring at the batter, bent at the waist with his right arm dangling before he delivered the ball.

Beck looked like a gunslinger, which made his nickname of "Shooter" so appropriate.

"When I was playing for the Indians and we would go to Milwaukee, when they brought in a reliever, they'd be brought in on a Harley-Davidson," Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper said. "I always thought Rod would be the perfect guy to ride in on a Harley every time he came in, because that's how he looked and that's how he pitched.

"I broadcast a lot of games when he got the final out. Half of those times, he did it on guts."

He was known as a great teammate and an even better person. In an era when players distance themselves from fans, Beck embraced them. He often held court in the Giants' hotel bar buying round after round for ordinary people who would chat with him about baseball.

In 2003, when Beck was trying to make a comeback with the Cubs and was assigned to their Triple-A Iowa team, he lived in a motor home beyond the center-field fence and invited fans to have a postgame beer.

"He was just a regular person," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "He loved cowboy boots, he loved country music, he loved kids, he smoked cigarettes. He was an offbeat personality, but he loved the game, respected the game and loved the Giants."

Shortstop Rich Aurilia said Beck recalled the first time he met Beck.

"It was my first day in the big leagues," Aurilia said. I had watched him on TV and saw a guy with a big mullet and a big mustache thinking he was 38 years old.

"My first day he came up to me to say hi, and congratulate me in that high-pitched voice he had, and I found out he was two years older than me. He was a great teammate and a great competitor, and as he got older, he didn't have the caliber of stuff he had earlier in his career, but he had enough to get the job done.

"This is an unfortunate incident. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and kids."

Beck and his wife, Stacey, had two daughters, Kayla and Kelsey, now 13 and 12. While in San Francisco, the Becks helped raise money for children with AIDS.

Beck saved 48 games for the 1993 Giants team that fell one game short of reaching the playoffs and 37 games for the 1997 division-winning team. His most memorable moment came on Sept. 18 that season, the famous Brian Johnson home-run game that propelled the Giants to the title.

In the 10th inning, with the score tied 5-5, Beck allowed three Dodgers singles to load the bases with nobody out. But he struck out Todd Zeile. Then, with the infield in, Beck got then-41-year-old Eddie Murray to hit a splitter to second baseman Jeff Kent, who threw home to start an inning-ending double play. A crowd of 52,188 at Candlestick Park went berserk.

"I can remember him coming off the mound," said Darryl Hamilton, the Giants' center fielder in 1997. "The intensity he had coming off the mound was something I'll never forget."

Nine days later, Beck got the final out of the 6-1, division-clinching victory over the Padres. As the Giants celebrated on the field, "I remember that everyone piled on him because he's the one who kept us going," Hamilton said. "He was the guy who got us into the playoffs."

The Giants issued a statement from owner Peter Magowan on Sunday saying, "When our partnership group took over the Giants in 1993, all of San Francisco was treated to a wonderful 103-win year. Nobody who was a part of that will forget Rod's 48 saves. When we reached our dream of the playoffs in 1997, it was only fitting that Rod was on the mound for the final out that clinched the National League West."

The next season, having gone to the Cubs as a free agent, he saved a career-high 51 games, including Chicago's 5-3 victory over the Giants in a one-game play-in for the National League wild card.

Beck's velocity declined over the years, especially after he underwent "Tommy John" elbow surgery in 2002. By the time he signed with the Padres in 2003, he barely hit 83 mph with his fastball. However, when closer Trevor Hoffman went down with a shoulder injury, Beck converted 20 consecutive save opportunities.

"What a job he did for us," Bochy said. "We were desperate to find a closer, and Rod came in and did a terrific job for us. He saved us that year."

Beck returned from his 2004 leave of absence "in great shape, determined to come back," Bochy said. But Beck's performance declined and the Padres released him.

Last August, Beck sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch of a Giants-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. He said in an interview he was doing "a whole lot of nothing" but was excited about the prospect of acting as a mob hit man in a film being produced by the relative of a friend.

Asked if he had acted before, Beck said, "Sure, every time I went out to the mound. It was all an act."